Get a Fresh Lineup From the New ‘Barbershop: the Next Cut’ Trailer

The Barbershop series of films have always been organized over the notion of the barbershop as a central pillar of black community, a place for friends to congregate and relax, take pleasure in one another’s company, and shoot the bull while tightening up a fade. In the 2002 original, 2004’s Barbershop 2: Back in Business, and the 2005 Queen Latifah-led spinoff Beauty Shop, black hair functions as a symbol of identity and agency, and those with the know-how to properly style it empower the black populace to remain steadfast against the encroaching threats of poverty, gentrification, and racism. Beyond their import as a social force, the Barbershop franchise has historically collected a stable of easygoing performers worth hanging out with, from Cedric the Entertainer’s marble-mouthed barber to upstanding citizen Ice Cube.

It’s been 11 years since the last film in the Barbershop connected cinematic universe, but that hasn’t deterred the powers that be from giving it a fresh trim and getting it back out in the world. Shifting hands from MGM to Warner Bros., the newest installment Barbershop 3: the Next Cut will come to theaters next year with some high-profile additions to the cast. Ice Cube, Cedric the Entertainer, Queen Latifah, Eve, and Anthony Anderson are all returning for this new romp through the particulars of urban strife, with Nicki Minaj, Tyga, and Lamorne Morris of New Girl adding new wattage into the mix.

The new trailer finds the regulars at a newly conjoined barbershop/beauty shop combo caught in the crossfire of an escalating gang war. If they want to restore order and safety to the streets, they’ll have to… I don’t know, cut hair? That seems to be everyone’s big thing in the movie.

It’s been more than 10 years since our last appointment at Calvin’s Barbershop. Calvin (Ice Cube) and his longtime crew, including Eddie (Cedric the Entertainer), are still there, but the shop has undergone some major changes. Most noticeably, our once male-dominated sanctuary is now co-ed. The ladies bring their own flavor, drama and gossip to the shop challenging the fellas at every turn. Despite the good times and camaraderie within the shop, the surrounding community has taken a turn for the worse, forcing Calvin and our crew to come together to not only save the shop, but their neighborhood.